Seaking

Chatting with a non-internet buddy with a 2007 RSV with about 30,000 odd KMs on it, who described an odd infrequent issue while starting his bike.. Once in a blue moon, when starting his bike, either hot or cold, the engine will turn over once but not continue turning, not getting in that first complete turn of the engine (best he can describe it is like the battery just has enough juice to get that one turn only and dies but it has a full charge..). When this happens, his trip odo will reset.. almost like he disconnected the battery, but the radio presets stay intact. A second press of the starter switch will always start the bike every time like nothing's happened, the bike starts fine like normal, it runs fine, his mileage is average, bike has lots of power.. But he says it's that once in a blue moon event that has him puzzled.. probably happened about three times this summer. He can't seem to identify a precursor to the event that might be causing it. The battery checks fine, being less than two years old.. Nothing to do with rain, he's checked the battery connections, checked wiring for anything that might be loose.. but it doesn't happen often enough to be a show stopper.. But could this be an indication of something getting old / weak / ready to fail?

Here's what you're looking for: http://www.crutchfield.com/p_107DB401/Polk-Audio-db401.html Putting cones behind them help as well..

Not sure to be honest.. it's all FM to me..

The first set of LED passing lamps I installed were horrible for interference on the radio, horrible! The next set I picked up were from Custom Dynamics and there is no interference on the radio or aux at idle or at speed. These lamps are a little expensive but as I found out, they are cheaper than others, more expensive than than the cheap brands but no interference. I've had them on the bike for 2 years or so without any probs.. Custom Dynamics is a great company to deal with if you encounter any probs.. Very bright and solid.. they go well with a HID headlight...

I had replaced my front speakers a few years ago, and if I'm not mistaken, it's as simple as pulling the front fairing off and going at them from behind.. If you do a search for Polk Speakers, you may find the thread that outlines exactly what is required.. simple enough job.. Best of luck!

Interesting if it would work in this application of the trunk latch bracket where you need to 'butt end' join the broken pieces, and not overlap join them like the article describes.. there's a huge application difference due to the surface contact coverage.. but I'm thinking it would work if you were to bond in a the narrow curved strip of ABS pipe inside the latch mount where it usually cracks to give it more strength and bond coverage surface?

Nice repair job.. Looks like your ABS bracket broke in the same place mine did.. If you can't find the original product, you can use JB Weld to reinforce the corners of the bracket. Put a heavy bead of JB Weld in the inside corners of the bracket and then install your tang, wrapped in plastic, so the JB Weld doesn't stick to it, and after the Weld cures, you can pull off the tang, unwrap it and still be able to move it to adjust it for a tight fit when re-installed.. The JB Weld makes the bracket that much stronger and will hold up for quite a while.. I've repaired a couple of other ABS parts with it and it works well. Cheers

Glad the fix worked for you.. I can happily say that the fix has still held to this day.. Cheers

There's actually a circuit setup you can install on the bike that won't deliver power to the headlight until the engine is actually running after startup, which actually gives you a bit more cranking amps at startup since the headlight isn't on when you turn the key.. I don't have this on my bike at the moment but plan to rig it this winter.. a lot safer than risking forgetting to turn on your headlights via switch.. I don't have the schematics for this set up at hand but can hunt it down and post it if someone wants to have a look at it.. Cheers

The first time I installed the ballast I also used double side velcro tape, the space created by the velcro should give adequate heat stand off space but it created enough heat that the tape on the inner fairing softened and it slid off.. So on the second installation I glued small wooden blocks onto the ballast and then velcro that to the inner fairing and it's held solidly ever since.. just use a good heat resistant glue.. I believe I used Gorilla Glue for that application and its worked out fine.

oh cool.. glad it worked out.. Cheers

Not at all.. your typical H4 bulb in your bike is a 55/65 low/high beam setup.. installing a 35 or 55w HID doesn't require more power than an OEM bulb.. There are several components to the HIS system, more cables and connectors and a slim ballast but it's typically all easy plug and play.. easy to install.. Depending on where you get it from, it's a single bulb on a piston that pushes and pulls the bulb in and out of the housing to get the high and low beam function. The only thing you have to be careful of is the placement of the ballast as it can get hot, and that you shouldn't flick the high/low beam back and forth repeatedly which might weaken or break the piston mechanism.. Apart from that it's all easy-peasy..

Just tossing this in to make sure it's not something else that you're hearing.. you stated you changed tires as well as the clutch. Did you perchance go to E3 tires from something else? The E3 tires will have a hum to them in certain conditions as the road surface contacts the edge off-centre of the tire.. if you're riding in a straight line, and just lean the bike a tad to one side or the other while maintaining a straight line, you can hear this low growl or hum from the tires.. it doesn't take much but it's there.. if you're on a road that has track depressions from semi truck wheels, just that little amount of curve can cause the tires to hum or low growl.. The sound does go away after a while.. or you simply don't register hearing it anymore. I went through this when I first installed E3's on my bike. now I seldom ever hear them.. Just a thought, but hopefully your issue is as simple as this.. and not something much worse.. Best of luck..

Once you go HID you'll never go back to the old bulbs.. (I also carry a spare standard H4 bulb on road trips, just in case) In the past 3 years, never had any issues and just recently upgraded to a 55W HID which is wow, even more impressive. I just got back from another road trip, and when traveling through deer infested areas at night, ended up with a few bikes behind me who were taking advantage of the long reach of the light on my bike.. as soon as a deer was spotted, everyone slowed down and started hitting the horn to spook the deer back into the woods.. a bit funny at the time.. I found it able to punch through thick fog better than regular bulbs as well.. you still end up with that curtain of fog in front of you but the road is much more visible through it..

As Retardo Mentalblock once said.. "its better to LOOK good than to feel good".. As long as people can see you, who cares how it looks.. but in your case, nice job!! I used black reflective tape in various positions of the Midnight bike.. You can't see the tape in the daytime but at night, headlights blaze them up nicely.. especially on the tips of the antennas =)

The reason the fuel pump is suspected due the symptoms experienced is that the fuel pump will not fail 'gradually' but literally instantaneously, in this case. This is what happened to mine a few years ago. Basically the very same thing the OP is experiencing now, is what I went through, and a new fuel pump cured the problem. What is most likely happening is that the electrical contacts that engages the pump are very near their limits and any amount of heat or over use is causing the contacts to lose connection thereby shutting down the pump and you suffer instant fuel starvation, and the engine shuts down. You can crank and crank and crank the engine all you want but without the pump turning to allow fuel to pass through, it's locked. My pump would cool off and allow the contact to make connection again and all would be fine.. until they lost contact again.. either under big load (dropping the hammer) or just merrily cruising along at low speeds. There was no rhyme or reason to when it would do it, but it usually did it at the weirdest times. When my fuel pump finally died in PA while visiting SkyDoc, (thanks Doc for putting me up and the tow!) the local shop did the fuel pump test and it worked, but it then died again for the final time before other testing were done.. So to them, the pump was fine, and they replaced a lot of parts under warranty before tossing their hands up in the air and I had to get the bike taken to another shop. The mechanic there was able to identify the problem within 15 minutes and got a new pump installed and that was the end of that. All fixed and never since a hiccup with that pump or fuel issues. He showed me the contacts on the old pump and there were quite rounded off, never again to make full connection.. When I explained to him about my fuel filter issues prior to this fuel pump problem kicking in, he suggested that the clogged filter over worked the pump, causing it's premature demise. Hence why I relocated my fuel filter and change it twice a year on spec..Easy to access and cheap enough not to worry. If only these pumps would simply die their horrible death right away and not linger on and on before the final demise, a lot of these problems would be easier solved.. and rectified in a timely manner to allow us to ride on worry free. I know how the OP feels about going on a road trip, not knowing when and IF the pump will die again, most likely at the MOST inopportune moment.. Best of luck.. based on my experience with my fuel pump issues, which is very similar to the OP's, a fuel pump change is recommended. No guaranties that this IS the fix but that would be my first item to look at.. I would not suspect the kick stand being the culprit here.. if a bump causes the safety switch to activate, causing the kick stand to drop enough, it kills the engine. (safety switch is there so you can't pull away in gear with the kick stand down). Once the kick stand is up and the switch is made (closed or open?!) the engine will crank and start ok.. If the safety switch is the culprit and caused your engine to shut down, you wouldn't be able to crank the engine at all.. you just end up getting the two red 'engine check light' and 'water temp' lights when you press the starter. If the kick stand safety light just jiggled enough to cause the engine to shut off while riding, but re-engages itself properly when you tried to start it again, it should crank over and then start.. simple as that (sorry, can't remember if the switch is activated with the kick stand down or up.. but the effect is the same..) This switch is the cause to a few of the instant shut downs experienced by many bikes but it's a quick check and a quick fix.. The OP said he's able to crank and crank the engine after a shut down but it will not start right away.. to me that is not the kick stand as it would catch and start after a couple of cranks.. if the engine would not crank, that's an indication of the kick stand switch.. As far as the diodes and relays and rigamajigs in the little black boxes, well that's all FM to me (frikken magic).. as long as the smoke doesn't escape from these boxes, all should be good.. I do wish the OP best of luck with problem, as I DO know how it feels riding with a dodgy bike, not knowing when or if it will shut down at the wrong time while riding.. Cheers

I had to take the fairing off the bike today to install some more gear under the hood and took the opportunity to find out if the fairing muffles the horn by a large or small margin when the stebel horn is installed under the fairing.. and the results were interesting.. Using two different apps on the iPhone that measures db levels, I testing the loudness of the horn with the fairing on and with it off.. and the difference was only 1 db at 50 yards according to those two apps.. not much of a difference really, the only difference I could perceive was in the tone of the horn being covered or not covered by the fairing.. I'd have to say that you're not giving up 'loudness' when tucking the horn under the front fairing.. however, like everything else, YMMV.. Cheers

Awesome.. I just recently completed my second valve adjustment on my bike since I've had it.. Goose showed me how to do the job while I was traveling thru Texas one year and he made it look super simple and super deasy to do.. If I recall, all shims needed to be changed out at 56,000 miles. The one I just did at 110,000 miles, only 4 shims needed to be changed out. They were just within spec but since I had everything apart, it was indeed best to change them out. The others were well within specs and should be good until the next inspection. Goose had shown me a little trick of putting a bare knuckle on the tank while riding and if you felt a lot of high freq buzz, it might indicate your shims may be out.. Seeing how close to specs the shims were at 110,000 miles and how little buzz there was this time compared to before he did my valves at 56,000 miles, I'd say that was a good gauge to go by. The guide in the library is quite comprehensive and everything flowed nicely. The little tips and tricks certainly help to make sure you avoid leaks and other surprises.. Apart of the time waiting for new shims to come in (overnight), the task took the better part of a day to complete. I purchased the Yamaha J tool at a great price for the job for a good price.. One thing I did do this time was to look closely at my intake valves. Wow, they weren't just dirty, they were encrusted with carbon and junk.. most of it hard caked on stuff.. a lot of it! Gees, no wonder the bike was working so hard.. I used a variety of brass picks and tools to chip away at the stuff until the valves were clean, (working on one valve at a time in it's closed position and getting all that debris out of the ports took a few hours of careful work.. ) A week of local touring after that clean up on the valves, I can readily say my gas mileage greatly improved and the bike runs so much smoother and feels stronger. It took away that hard shake on the bike when it was under load in 5th gear.. I can cruise at lower speeds and higher gears without lugging the engine, saving on fuel and extending the range. On the highway at 70 mph, the increased gas mileage is great to see again, and accelerate nicely in 5th gear at speed. The bike feels like it has more torque in all gears, and more 'oomph' to it when I drop the hammer on it.. its like getting a whole new bike again.. so very impressed over the improvement in performance and longer legs on the bike. I'll be curious to see if the valves picked up more junk on them at the next valve check..

I shouldn't think so.. however you could try re-seating the plug connector.. If I am not mistaken, the fuel sensor is the float type mechanism and its been known that these will stick or not move smoothly.. Mine did that one spring and I managed to work it out by putting some seafoam in the tank and sloshing the tank back and forth for a bit.. as if the sloshing action cleaned off the hinge parts somewhat.. gremlins or not, it seemed to have done the trick as I hadn't had any problems with it since I did that.. It could have been purely coincidental..

I also have a 2006 Midnight and I have the fuel light coming on at odd times as well.. I sometimes see the F numbers come up on the trip odo and then the low fuel light will come on soon afterwards or several miles down the road later.. Sometimes the bike will hit reserve very soon afterwards and sometimes not for a while later.. it isn't always consistent.. I very seldom ever ride the bike below two bars on the gauge.. though once I ran it down to no bars showing.. I did notice on the last road trip that the speed, inclination and lean of the bike will affect the sensor as to when the light, gauge and reserve come on, just by where the fuel is sitting inside the tank.. Just out of curiosity, when was the fuel filter last changed? A clogged filter caused some weird situations on my bike when I first got it..

Mine is the same way as you describe about the switch.. Sorry I can't say much about the lights though, got my bike apart for valves right now

You would think the fairing muffles the sound but it doesn't.. it still blasts out loud.. I have had mine inside the fairing for past three years, wrapped in foam (except for the critical parts) and tied down so it doesn't vibrate or shake inside the fairing.. Its loud.. it's an air horn..

Just occurred to me while riding today, is there any possibility that the kick stand might be bouncing and breaking contact thereby killing the engine? Just a thought, as several people suggested that one to me when I was having these same problems.. ?

a little note about synching carbs that make a little bit of difference for some folks.. when you put the screw driver to the adjustment screws, be careful not to push hard against the screws as you turn it as it chugs down the engine (I'm not technically savvy enough to explain why, just know that it does..).. So when you make your adjustments, place the screwdriver up against the screws and gentle turn the screw driver just a little.. if you press against the screws, the revs drop and gives you an erroneous reading when synching.. when you smoothly and gently blip the throttle, they reset themselves and you'll find your synch is way off. Just a note about the synch tools; I have all three manometers, the Carb tune, the needle dial one and the Pro Motion liquid one and the pro motion manometer is by far my favourite one to use as it's more precise and allows you to really get the synch done properly.. As far as the fluid creeping up the tubes, I find that getting the revs up a bit and holding it allows the fluid to settle itself properly down the tubes when calibrating the tool before synching the carbs. I used the carb tune to adjust the synch and after a test ride, put the pro motion to it and wow, a world of difference.. so smooth I haven't gotten any hand buzz at all since the last synch.. I put the motion pro to the bike again after that test ride and found the synch spot on again.. yes, I would admit its a more finicky tool to use but its well worth the effort..

Similar to what mine did, though I didn't know the bike well enough to remember the trouble shooting light codes.. just that the engine just switched completely off without even so much of a sputter or jiggle.. I didn't know enough about the bike so I'd always pull over to the side of the highway and do the typical head scratching pondering thing then try to start it and zoom.. as if nothing would happen.. either it would die a couple of times a day or not for several days.. until the fuel pump finally died for good.. Best of luck, hope it works out for you. Cheers